November is a funny month for me. On the one hand, I'm relieved Halloween is over because now I don't have any more work to do. I actually enjoy not thinking about it. I also look forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas when I'll just be able to relax and enjoy everyone else's hard work for the holiday.

On the other hand, now I've got too much free time. I actually sat at my computer today trying to think of something to do - realizing I didn't have anything Halloween related to search for and that I didn't want to search for anything Halloween related. I guess I'll just have to go back to living the normal life.

I got to see "The Nightmare Before Christmas: In 3D" the other night with Ceccers. It's absolutely a favorite movie of mine and I was relishing the opportunity to go see it in the theater because I love just going to movies. The 3D was absolutely spectacular - Ceccers and I gasped a couple times at how awesome it looked. It probably helped that the movie was filmed with three dimensional figures. I even noticed details I had never seen before because of the huge screen - the pumpkins in Halloweentown, the grass in the graveyard, etc.

I've put most of my Halloween acoutremont away and am glad to let it go until the next few holidays are over.

Fall back!
Abi Normal

Wednesday, October 31 - Halloween

I woke around 8:30AM, had some granola cereal for breakfast (the last thing I was to eat before 6PM), and threw on some clothes. I thought it would only take 15 minutes to un-curler my hair and fix up the few that didn't come out - and then it ended up taking 45 minutes. After an excellent shellacking with hair-spray, I was off in the car to run my morning errands.

I first got to JoAnn Fabrics to pick up 2.5 yards of black fabric Beloved Seamstress wanted for my costume but they did not open until 10AM. Using my awesome ability to be so "in-the-zone" I can be flexible (but not personable - fantastic powers can have their downsides), I moved on to Lowe's and got the dirt for my wheelbarrow and then over to Michaels to pick up more dowel rods (I came up 3 short from painting and assembling the night before) and more glass apothecary jars (one of mine broke the night before). I also hit up some of the Martha Stewart Halloween clearance and got a skeleton window cling I had been eying for 1/2 the price. I swung back around to JoAnn's and got 2.27 yards of fabric (a call to Beloved Seamstress confirmed that would do).

My last shop was to our local Meats and Ice place to pick up the dry ice for the cauldron. After bantering around with the saleslady, I got 5 lbs o' frozen carbon dioxide and a compliment on my hair. Back at home, I mainly set myself upon gluing the black plastic silhouettes onto the muslin panels and then hanging them in the windows with thumbtacks. There were 15 left to hang - two of which required air conditioners to be removed (technically 3 - but I know when it's time to let things slide) and two that required a ladder. The panels created a cool green darkness in the house during the bright day.

Madman and Beloved Seamstress had completed and painted the plywood witch and her cats in beautiful order, and Madman's manly alterations to the project that included a tree stake instead of a pipe to ensure "that bitch ain't going anywhere!" (that bitch also wouldn't be flush with the ground, but I digress). Madman moved the witch and her cats into position while I set up the graveyard around them.

While outside, I started putting the lollipops in. Originally the plan was to duct tape them to tent stakes but I found making a hole with the stake and then pushing the dowel rod down deeper looked more 'natural.' Instead of propping up the pool noodle candy canes I just threw them into the bushes and felt gratified with that.

Now, working outside on Halloween decorations is practically an excuse for your neighbors to come talk to you. Which I have no problem with - when I'm not too busy. Thankfully, though, enough of them came around when I could both chat and work. As a handful of school children walked by from the nearby elementary school, one of them exclaimed she remembered the house from last year and announced "they always do something scary!" and went on to describe the diver prop I had. I was touched that a child would remember my haunt and felt significant.

As the day wore on and I went longer and longer without something to eat, my mood became less zen. I snapped a few times at Beloved Seamstress who was patiently working on my costume about how I wasn't going to get everything done I had wanted to and how I really need an assistant. This was mainly possible because I had to roll out the breakfast nook table on my own and passed her working on my way out. Realizing I would worsen with time, Madman was sent out to get a pizza.

I painted the broomstick and wand black, spray painted the remaining dowel rods white, and then got to work on the "Here Kiddie Kiddie" sign. The sign was made with a leftover piece of plywood and a stencil I'd cut out with a Xacto knife on Monday. The brush I used was way too big and thus the letters look sloppy, but in the end the overall look of the sign is decidedly creepy. The dog crate was brought out and propped on it's side for the sign to rest on. I decided not to put candy in this year as I didn't want people to actually go into the crate.

After the table was set up and the floodlights were set up in the yard, I felt I accomplished as much as I could. I didn't get around to a few projects, but what alterations I could make were made and I had some pizza. I changed clothes and got pinned into my dress Beloved Seamstress had worked at a fever pitch to finish - and I was gorgeous. The hoop skirt created such a huge, feminine swish I found it irresistible and impossible to be in a bad mood while in it.

The first half-hour of Trick or Treating didn't see many kids. I mostly entertained the neighbors who came out with cameras in hand to take pictures of the house and of me in costume. I answered questions on how things were done and took photos of my own. The sun had started setting and the house started lighting up and all of a sudden the praise being heaped on me made sense (our next door neighbors kept saying they didn't decorate because anything they would put out would look shoddy next to the Disney World that was my display, another neighbor said the house was front page newspaper worthy).

When the kids started coming around, they weren't scared of the haunt like they were last year (boo) and a lot of them didn't get I was a witch (I needed the hat!). I had some fun guessing their costumes (one time I was really wrong - she was 'the tooth fairy' despite her orange/black witch costume) and giving them a special lollipop. I had to pull the "Now it's Halloween night - what do we say?" to get them to say Trick Or Treat a bunch.

The gangs of Trick Or Treating kids ran up screaming "I want to go to the green house!" (apparently it was visible from down the block) or "It's Candy World/Land!" or "Here kiddie kiddie? Oh, I get it!" One girls asked if I had gotten the idea from the Childsnatchers sequence from "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and I had to tell her I'd never seen the movie. The compliments just kept coming and I kept taking them gracefully - although I wish I had brought out a chair so I could have sat down because I was feeling so tired. A couple of times I sat on the cold steps and that felt good for a while as well as helped me hand out candy to the smaller kids.

Around 7:15PM the lollipops ran out. I had been warned by a neighbor earlier that we get about 200 kids a year, at which point i knew my backup candy would come in handy. Madman fetched me a ice scoop to get the jelly beans/candy corn/gummy bears/mellocreme pumpkins out of the apothecary jars. I would just pour the candy into their sacks or their hands and tell them to remember where they got it so they would know it wasn't poisoned.

Around the same time, Beloved Seamstress had made some Wassail (mulled cider) and brought me out a cup. A Trick or Treater said "I smell vassel!" and it took me a couple seconds to figure out her pronunciation of Wassail was very different from... any I'd ever heard. Booker, a family friend and bookstore owner stopped by to see the haunt at my invitation after he'd sent me a copy of "Extreme Pumpkins." We got into a conversation about the New Yorkers spread of Hansel and Gretel pictures from this week that Madman pointed out to me and how the New Yorker and I always seem to be on the same page during Halloween (Oh, how cutting edge I am).

As the Trick Or Treaters thinned out I took some more pictures and video. When they stopped coming altogether, I changed clothes and started taking some of the props inside. I was thoroughly exhausted by the end of the day - it felt like the bottom of my feet were bruised and my legs were sore. After taking down a few of the window panels, I actually ended up in bed as Beloved, Beloved Seamstress finished up bringing the rest inside.

It was a good Halloween - I'd say 80% of the planning was executed and it came together just beautifully. However, it was colder this year than last which I think affected how many Trick Or Treaters we had (it seemed fewer than last year). Also, I didn't see as many people who remembered my haunts in the past and I didn't get as many family photo ops (I got one but I'm also greedy). It was a good year, but I think next year can be even better. I've already decided I might want to throw a small block party buffet on Halloween to bring more people to the house (when I'll find the time is another story), try to get the attention of my local paper (there exists a reporter who loves my parties), and have made a sketch I might use for next year.

What I'll do for attention.

The witch cat wears its mystic ring,
The black bat spreads its gruesome wing,
Hobgoblins weirdly chant and sing,
'Tis Halloween.
Abi Normal

October 28th, Sunday Progress: After working out a list of the remaining purchases and projects (which always makes me feel better) I worked on getting a few more mp3's of scary children to eventually splice together with witches laughing. Then I called Beloved Seamstress to double check her progress and sorted out a lot just over the phone.

I spray painted 3 Styrofoam balls (yellow, orange, and blue) and 2 base coats for the Styrofoam disks outside using the cardboard booth and mat. The weather was actually less windy and more mild than yesterday. I should have worn a face mask as to not inhale the fumes, but I didn't. To clear my head after the painting I sat in the grass and watched the clouds go by. I had a moment.

The rest of the night was spent inside painting the detail work on the Styrofoam disks (orange on orange - the spray paint orange was actually more of a sherbert orange and yellow on yellow - which looked like butter rum), the 2 remaining Styrofoam balls (one purple and one green), and painting the last 12" disk purple and green. To paint the balls, I stuck them all on pencils. To dry, the balls on pencils were place in two rolls of stacked duct tape so they would be securely off the floor. I felt pretty genius when I came up with that solution.

Now the fumes from the spray painted Styrofoam had not yet dissipated and having to be close enough to paint them I ended up wearing a scarf around my face to save braincells. Once I figured out that the completed lollipops were still fuming I lumped them all in the bathroom and just avoided going in there as much as possible. After they were all dry to my satisfaction, all 18 lollipops were shut up in a box and the fumes were problems no longer.

While I worked I kept my ears busy listening to "Hannah Montana" (there's something likable about that show that I can't yet place) and then taped and watched "R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It" on Cartoon Network. It was actually a special which included commentary by Emily Osment, who's also in "Hannah Montana." Coincidence? Well, I'd seen "Don't Think About It" first and liked the movie - Osment depicted adolescent angst pretty well, the movie takes place during Halloween and depicts both a dance and trick or treating, and they feature Eat 'n Park Halloween Smiley Cookies, which are part of my mysterious past. I probably started watching "Hannah Montana" after the movie, but still have yet to regret the decision.

October 29th, Monday Progress: Also known as "Shut In Day" - I actually only left once to go buy more tape. After a nice long sleep I worked on the silhouettes. The Process of Making a Window Silhouette goes like this:
1. Find the template online or draw a template.
2. Resize the template if necessary.
3. Print the template out.
4. Cut the template out and if necessary, tape together the many pages to form the larger template.
5. Tape the template on to the black plastic securely.
6. Cut out the silhouette with scissors and or Xacto knife.
7. If the silhouette needs to be flattened, sandwich between two books.
8. Clean up the scraps of paper and plastic.

This process was repeated to make eight mice, a monstrous crow, more than two dozen bats in four different sizes, an owl, and two large witches. I worked until 6AM. It felt crazy because it was crazy.

I didn't glue any of the silhouettes to the muslin, although I did set up one of the witches to see how it was looking:

In my opinion, pretty good. This was for the second floor windows. It sometimes scares me how well things I've imagined turn out. It should scare you, too.

Before I started the silhouettes I made a diagram of the windows and a list of what was to go in each one. Unfortunately, I didn't make all the silhouettes according to my original design (especially for the first floor, which relied on my freehand abilities).

While I was doing all that I remember listening to almost all 8 hours of the "Scariest Places on Earth" episodes I taped, "BeetleJuice," "The Muppet Show" Halloween episodes (Vincent Price and Alice Cooper - awesome),  and "Monster House" on YouTube (what is there you can't find on the internet?). It was the second time I'd seen "Monster House," and like most movies I think I liked it more the second time around.

One of the things I find myself resenting about Halloween is how I'm oft unable to enjoy the season because I'm more of a builder/provider than a participant. I make what people enjoy for the holiday, and thus I don't get to see what other people build or attend some of the holiday events as much as I'd want to. This is especially pertinent with Trick or Treating as I see other people put out displays but I never get around to seeing them in their full Halloween glory before they are torn down. This felt relevant to me today because there was a Halloween parade I had wanted to go to but missed because I was inside working. I guess I can only hope to balance the two more in the future.

October 30th, Tuesday Progress: After a long but surprisingly pleasant day, I found out the Halloween parade was actually today but I missed it anyway. I made a trip to Wal-Mart and stocked up on dowel rods and hair curlers. Beloved Seamstress hadn't made much progress on my costume and ended up working late into the night. After a quick shower, the curlers went into my hair around midnight (with the help of Beloved Seamstress to get the back of my head) and there were about 25 in all.

I spent the remainder of the night painting the dowel rods white to resemble lollipop sticks. I also painted the orange base coat for the 6" Styrofoam disk which would become my good witch wand. The wand would have a black and orange swirl (like the lollipops), green/black/orange/purple curling ribbon at the neck, and then a long black handle. I got some orange/black/green curling ribbon from the Wal-Mart and I was plenty pleased with that.

While I worked I got to watch "What's Up With That Halloween House?" an HGTV special Beloved Seamstress had recorded for me. It featured different yard and house haunts (mostly in California) that didn't leave me too jealous - two of the haunters actually worked in Hollywood and had won Emmy's! One was a set designer and the other was a writer. But still! That's pretty serious. I also watched various "Simpsons TreeHouse of Horror" episodes, which I love.

Long after midnight, I decided to hang up some of the first floor muslin window panels so I could see what they looked like (it was the last time it would be dark before Halloween night). I put up the two that would face the side yard, then put on my coat and shoes to go look at it. Just as I opened the front door, something caught my eye - it was moving fast, approaching from the left on the other side of the street. It was a dog - alone. In the dark. At 3AM. As soon as I saw it, it saw me and started BARKING. Paranoid from lack of sleep and unwilling to get bitten by an unknown border collie, I went back into the house. I was thoroughly creeped out and half convinced it was a bad omen. I ended up putting up the next three panels that faced the porch and then walked out to check them. Satisfied that they casted an eerie green glow, I traipsed back inside and went to bed.

She thinks of bones
And grinning skulls and corruptible death
Wrapped in his shroud; and now fancies she hears
Deeps sighs and sees pale, sickly ghosts gliding.*
Abi Normal

*"Fair Elenor" William Blake; one of the forefathers of Emo

Happy October 28th!

October 22nd and 23rd Progress: After a super-busy beginning of the week, I got lucky. I was able to download The Nightmare Before Christmas 2-Disc Reissue album from a blog for free (Fiona Apple's cover of "Sally's Song" is phenomenal, and due to software updates denying my CD-ripped mp3's I was thrilled to get the rest of the album back). I will eventually go see ""The Nightmare Before Christmas: IN 3D!" but that will be at some point in November, because I feel it's more of a November movie anyway (End of Halloween + Christmas = Sense).

I also got a lead on a song from a forum that was featured in Halloween episodes of Rocko's Modern Life and The Adventures of Pete & Pete. The song sounded oddly familiar but no one I knew could place it. It turned out to be "Spooky Scherzo" by Sam Fonteyn, and had originally been used in "Ren and Stimpy," so my friend Ceccer's (pronounced "checkers") theory that it was Nickelodeon property was somewhat correct. I found the song again in a blog, and it came in a phenomenal mix inspired by Halloween in the 1950's. In fact, Paul's Ramblings blog has a good ear and some great mixes. The blogosphere was very good to me.

October 24th Progress: Wednesday I got to carve my first pumpkin of the season. There was a Pumpkin Carving Event that would supply free pumpkins, so of course I made a b-line straight to it. As I was gutting my perfect specimen, I listened in on the conversations of the new and inexperienced carvers, and even lent my years of expertise to those who needed the help. With the help of a dry-erase marker (WARNING - dry erase markers make semi-permanent marks on pumpkins, they're very difficult to wash off! Avoid, avoid!) and an electric pumpkin carving saw (WANT) I banged out a fearful face reminiscent of Tom Nardone's Extreme Pumpkins in about 30 minutes all together:


I titled it "Acrophobia" after the fear of heights, mostly because I think I'll put it up somewhere high.


Here is the super-scared face lit up with a flashlight. Glow sticks were provided to give the pumpkin an early glow - and they did! - but the glow was too dim to show up on camera. It made a lovely night light all the same.

I'll admit I was a little scared of the electric saw at first, but once I had the hang of it I truly appreciated how quick and smooth the results were. The trick: push the saw into the pumpkin first. I never claimed to be a genius of common sense.

Beloved Seamstress met up with me later and together we ooh'd and aww'd the lollipops destined for my Trick-Or-Treaters.

October 26th Progress: Friday I began preparations for a 2-guest get-together on Saturday. My good pals Ceccers and The Letter M had been successfully argued into coming over to help me paint and cut out window silhouettes for the afternoon and evening, proviso mine that I order in dinner and provide snacks. So I swung by the local Farmer's Market to pick up a gallon of Apple Cider (as well as a spanakopita/gingerbread lunch) and then to WalMart for name-brand chocolates (a subtle Trick-Or-Treat simulation), Brachs candy corn and pumpkins, more spray paint, more Styrofoam (which I seem to be amassing a fortune in), and butter for popcorn.

Later in the evening I was lucky to hear of another! Pumpkin Carving Event! that offered free pumpkins to those who would mutilate them. With more primitive tools I made a second pumpkin, which I have dubbed:
Pumpkinhead. Not very original, but it seems to fit it. The inspiration for the design came form the current Reeses peanut butter cup commercials that tell you The most terrifying part of Halloween. . . is having to give away all your Reeses (true for me - Reeses are my favorite Halloween candy). Anyway, there's a quick strobe that reveals a Jack-O-Lantern type face on a Reeses that had only two fangs. I liked it, and so a pumpkin came of it.

October 27th Progress: What a day Saturday turned out to be! I managed to get 8 hours of the 12 hour "Scariest Places on Earth" Marathon on tape (Alan Turing is my over-exaggerating host of choice and personal hero). I also had some luck perusing sound files for my witch cackling/children laughing/nature sounds hybrid I'd like to use.

Ceccers, The Letter M, and I started out spray-painting outside (which they said was too cold) in a "dead" spot (where there was little wind to blow around my make-shift cardboard booth). We got two 12" disks spray painted yellow, one 9" disk painted blue, and one 5" ball (on a pencil) painted red.

I find it hard to direct people because I prefer to do something myself if I want it done a certain way. What I tend to do is either be overly critical and controlling (which is no fun) or exert no control and don't get what I want (but am somewhat more pleasant). In this second state, I didn't tell The Letter M how to properly spray-paint a piece of Styrofoam (keep the can at least 8 inches away and use broad, sweeping strokes) and she painted too much and too close, resulting in a paint-eaten, misshapen disk. I swallowed that lesson and tried to walk in the medium of directing and being fun for the rest of the day.

We retreated inside as the painted items dried in the kitchenette. I made popcorn (which they insisted putting 1/2 a mug of melted butter in because they like butter more than popcorn, and then adding a couple of melted chocolate bars; in-between laughing at how gross it was, I tried some and it was indeed disgusting), we watched an episode of Scariest Places on Earth, and then the 9" blue disk was given a pale-blue acrylic swirl.

We painted in the kitchenette with the latex paint to make the remaining orange-and-yellow lollipops for the fence. The spray-paint ended up being lighter than I would have liked and the gloss latex paint (as I had been warned) ended up showing the imperfections of the Styrofoam more clearly. The best method remains the first - odorless acrylics. Ceccers managed to "roll-out" his sponge-roller to the point where the sponge could not stay on it's handle. The new poster board stencils held up relatively well for all five disks. I will note that my using the roller to do the swirl on one disk resulted in a long touch-up period that I resented for my foolishness.


The new lollipops. They look just fine from a fine distance.

The three of us sat down for a take-out Chinese dinner (in which The Letter M tried scallion pancakes and was pleasantly surprised they didn't match her expectations of "scallop" pancakes) and some old friend conversation. Afterwards we viewed Hocus Pocus, which The Letter M and Ceccers had not seen in some time. After their departure, I reveled in the meaning of the season - that it is a holiday that is to be shared with all, but especially with old, dear friends. I then remembered the essence of a party is letting your friends come over, eat your food, and mess up your house. Somewhere in there it's still worth it.

I realize I still have a great deal left to accomplish and oversee - there are still many lollipops left to paint and window silhouettes to cut out - but all will be completed in due time.

Abi Normal
Lost at sea
Never Found

Happy October 21st!

The hoop skirt and the lollipops arrived over the weekend and they are everything I expected them to be.

I touched up the blue lollipop so now it looks a little more distinctive:


I also painted a smaller red/pink lollipop that came out just as well:



It was only today that I used the right key word (spiral) instead of swirl, so now I have an actual pattern to use and not my shabby, free-hand nonsense. I watched The Wizard of Oz while I painted to improve my memory of the movie and came away wanting to use the line "Things just haven't been the same since that house fell on my sister" on Trick or Treaters. I actually find it hard to get into character for Trick or Treating because you have to drop it for younger kids who won't approach you otherwise. Maybe this year putting on a giggly, fey Glinda-voice will put the young ones at ease and creep out the parents.

I have a real sugar-craving this time of year. When I'm not overly concerned with cavities, I like snacking on the*
and the Reeses Pumpkins.

The Kit Kats are especially interesting because they have "4 New Spooky Designs:"
*
Besides these two variants, I've seen "Best Witches" with a witch flying over the moon on a broomstick, a ghost with another phrase I can't remember (be assured it's something like BOO or Happy Haunting), and actually I've seen the bats with the phrase "Happy Haunting" instead of "Spooky Snacks." I'll have to buy another bag and investigate further. PS - They are best when frozen.

*Photos from X-Entertainment 2007 Greatest Halloween Candy Review.

I also caught the re-airing of the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends Nightmare on Wilson Way episode. I've been a Craig McCracken fan since The Power Puff Girls because his shows are so cleverly written and culturally relevant for children's programming. The characters on the show are so funny and endearing - especially the narcissistic, charismatic, and reality-detached Blooregard Q. Kazoo - better known as Bloo.

I was excited to see Foster's take on Halloween (which apparently premiered in 3D) and was wonderfully surprised by the episode. It was zombie-themed and included hilarious references to The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks (a personal favorite), Night of the Living Dead, and the Pixies Song "Ed is Dead." There were also costume references to the Power Puff Girls (Mojo Jojo, Blossom, and Bubbles), as well as Star Wars (Yoda), witches, the Village People, Big Daddy Pimps, Leathermen, Tron, and, of all things, the little-known Tank Girl! The episode had a few twists I didn't see coming (including the ending) which is always a nice surprise as cartoon plots are usually predictable. I've actually started downloading the episode from iTunes because I really want to see it again.

I had a small revelation on the phone with Beloved Seamstress. I was telling her about the Foster's episode and how surprised I was they used the words "kill" and "dead" so freely. I haven't seen a cartoon or any kid's show address death like that in a long time, reminding me that I grew up in an era of Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark. I'm not so sure if this scary streak is as popular now with young children, but it made me wonder if those books and TV shows influenced my love of Halloween and the macabre. Could be.

Dear happy days, forever fled
I too must wither, and be dead.
Abi Normal

Happy October 15th!

So far everything that is getting done is looking great!

October 10 & 11 Progress: Wednesday night I painted the yellow 12" Styrofoam disk with an acrylic orange swirl using a template I drew and cut from poster board. The template worked very well but required some touch-ups with the yellow paint.

Thursday I painted a second blue lollipop while watching the Hell House documentary and parts of School of Rock.

. . . It still needs to be touched up and the back has yet to be painted. I'll get to it eventually!

October 13 Progress: This Saturday I got to JoAnn Fabrics and bought the fabric for my costume with my beloved Seamstress/Cohort. I've been trying to concoct a deceptively sinister witch costume based on the Pretty Witch Costume and the Wicked Queen Costume - really, as if Glinda the Good Witch dressed in Halloween colors and was a cannibal. Beloved Seamstress and I settled on the pattern for a vampiress because it fit the design best - though I gave up the puffy sleeves I wanted (you'd trust someone with puffy sleeves and a big dress, you know you would!). The best orange fabric we could find was actually the wrong side of a gaudy shimmery fabric, but what works will work. We also picked up some very nice black fabric and purple ribbon. In case this design doesn't work out, I have a back-up design based on Winnifred Sanderson's dress from Hocus Pocus by modifying one of the many Lady Juliet Costumes. Hopefully it won't come to that.

Beloved Seamstress and I then went to the temporary Halloween Express store that didn't have anything too useful or interesting to me besides rubber snakes and plastic mice (always useful!). Beloved Seamstress argued they could be found at the Dollar Store and I agreed to wait on my purchase, also because no merchandise could be returned to the Express. We then ventured to the annual Arts and Crafts Festival where we had our traditional Thai lunch. After scanning the booths she bought some orange tinsel and a witch doll decoration as a present for my twisted Halloween tree. I was then taken to see the Beloved Seamstress and Madman's hounds swim in the local spring because it was, apparently, to be hilarious. To my good fortune, it was. I even got to throw out the floating toy the hounds ran after. Though they are decent swimmers now, soon they will be strong enough to chase the ducks and geese that populate the spring.

On the way back, Beloved Seamstress and I stopped by Karns to pick up various food items (Apple cider, apples, caramel apple mix - you know, the necessities) and it was just my luck they had the autumnally-colored gummi bears and jelly beans I had wanted to buy for my apothecary jar display. I picked up a few packs and am now partially regretting not getting the Jack-o-Lantern gumballs I saw.

After dinner was a trip to Michaels where all sorts of Halloween acoutremon was purchased - green and purple decorations, a witch's broom, Martha Stewart Mad Scientist labels, a Funkin, grapevine wreath, battery-powered mini tree lights, Spanish moss, and a new apothecary jar (I almost bought the same kind last week but I dropped it and it shattered :\ They were kind enough to clean it up and not make me pay for it). I got it in my mind to finish the Candy Cauldron tonight because Beloved Seamstress didn't feel up to doing any more work on the costume - but we couldn't find the necessary orange tissue paper! We didn't even find it at the adjacent Target (where I did pick up a test-tube-like bud vase; my glass collecting is too like a Siren call). We finally found it at the nearby Giant and after a trip to the Dollar Store to prove they had no toy snakes, we could finally turn in for the night.

Or so I thought. The batteries required for the mini tree lights were the wrong kind so I swooped out to Wal-Mart to pick up another pair. I found what I thought would be a better fitting grapevine wreath (it wasn't) and that Wal-Mart sells 12" Styrofoam disks (I bought four more).

I tried my hand at the Candy Cauldron using a 12" black plastic model I'd bought years earlier while watching Serenity (terrible, terrible script and hit and miss acting) as well as Children of Men (WOW - from the long shots to the... everything, WOW; super depressing, though). I took my time undoing and shaping the 18" grapevine wreath until the cauldron fit nicely upon it. The battery-powered lights proved to be too weak so they were added to the Halloween tree and replaced with orange lights. The final product was satisfying for the amount of time and work that went into it.
 

I tried next to clean the glass bottles I'd kept in storage for the past two years and succeeded in dropping and shattering the thickest one. That was the heralding call to bed.

October 14 Progress: After a lovely and relaxing breakfast with LeNoir and her college friend, Tara, I got to business by measuring the yard and setting up the outdoor extension cords to make sure I didn't have to buy any more. A long trip to Lowes followed where the plywood, jigsaw, tree stake, and gallon of black paint were bought to make the Black Magic Witch and her trio of felines. I also bought three more spotlight fixtures and six green floodlights to light up the yard. A second trip was made to JoaAnn Fabrics to purchase the 32 yards of muslin and green dye for the Bewitching Windows Variation I'd devised.

I checked all the floodlights to make sure they worked in the fixtures (important!) and then moved everything inside. Lunch consisted of grilled cheese sandwiches with apples and apple cider to drink - a Fall favorite - made by the Beloved Seamstress! I printed out the Black Magic Witch template and taped it together using the window as a light table (absolutely killing my arm) and then cut it out. Really I should have cut out the individual pieces and then taped them together, but I was confused by the corner markings. The template came out all right in the end. It is now up to Madman to cut out and paint the Witch and her cats. Beloved Seamstress has her hands full with the costume, but will oversee Madman's progress. And as if Beloved Seamstress was not beloved enough, she was also kind enough to whip up the caramel apple mixture so we had caramel apples and she cut, numbered, and dyed the muslin green (in the washing machine) according to the window sizes that she also measured. What a woman - I'm very lucky to have her.

October 15 Progress: Today I simply ordered 9 dozen black and orange-flavored lollipops to hand out to my trick or treaters from Oriental Trading. They'll be arriving the 25th, so I'm glad I ordered them today. I also ordered a 4-hoop crinoline skirt to fill out the costume from Angel's Bridal Shop on Ebay. The green muslin has been hanging in my shower to line dry

which makes me feel like a creepy laundress. I organized them so their numbers faced out after I counted two short. It turns out 15&16 as well as 19&20 weren't cut out or were supposed to stay connected - either way I'll have to get in touch with Beloved Seamstress. Also I remembered the really excellent Scream parody from Boy Meets World, "And Then There Was Shawn." Both scary and funny. Classic.

Remember dear, as you walk by
As you are now, so once was I
As I am now, you soon will be
Prepare for death and follow me
Abi Normal

PS - To follow you I'll not consent - Until I know which way you went!

Happy October 9th!

This is the blog of a Halloween yard haunter and Halloween enthusiast. As you can see, I'm already bumbling my way through designing it.

2007 Haunt Theme: Die Hexe Haus.
Through cultivating their garden of poisoned candy, a coven of witches lure children to their magick house.

Concept History:
The vaguest idea for the design was conceived in October 2005. The earliest sketches for this concept date back to March 2007. Prop production was planned to begin in May 2007, but actually commenced October 2007.

Today's Progress:
The previous night's painting with water-thinned acrylic paint on the 12" Styrofoam disk proved patchy results as a significant amount of the 4 FL.OZ. bottle had to be used. I made the decision to buy some latex paint and latex spray paint to see if they could improve the results.

After a harrowing bus trip to the mall (I got on a route that was scheduled to bypass the mall completely), I bought 3 more 12" Styrofoam disks, 3 9" Styrofoam disks, and 3 6" Styrofoam balls at JoAnn Fabrics.

At Wal-Mart I procured red, orange, blue, green, and purple rolls of Duct tape as well as Krylon Color Creations Gloss Popsicle Orange and Gloss Rubber Ducky yellow latex paint (it now occurs to me gloss paint will 'highlight' the imperfections of the Styrofoam, but I'm letting it go). I also bought Krylon H20 Latex spray paint in bright red, Krylon Interior-Exterior in orange (to compare the 'eating' effect on the Styrofoam), a 3-inch roller and a paint tray.

At home I wrapped the Duct tape around the pool noodles, staying in the color families (red tape on the red pool noodle, etc.). The constant ripping noise of the Duct tape surely disturbed some of my closer neighbors. I then used the fishing line and sheer strength to shape the noodles into a crook, being careful that the fishing line would be taunt against the Duct tape so not to cut into the noodle. The original design called for ribbon, though I preferred using tape for further string protection. I'm hoping when the noodles are submerged later in water, the duct tape will float off.

I completed all five by 10:30PM after deciding I didn't like the red noodle/orange tape combination and replacing it with the red tape. The tape did wrinkle when shaped but I don't think it will take away from the prop. I actually watched the end of the Corpse Bride and then House, MD while I worked.

A.B. Normal